Card index



J. C. RUSSELL.

CARD INDEX.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10. 1921.

1 ,QQfiflSGh Patented July 18, 11922,

JOSEPH CLIFFORD RUSSELL, F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

. CARD INDEX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 18, 1922.

Application filed February 10, 1921. Serial No. 443,849.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH CLIFFORD RUs- SELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have. invented certain new and useful Improvements in Card Indexes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as .will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in card indexes and more particularly to those of the visible type.

In card indexes of the visible type in which the cards, overlying each other, are held in tubular supports mounted to turn in a frame or slide,-the tubular supports or holders are usually made of thin sheet metal and if these are not accurately formed, there will be liability of binding between the end portions of such holders and walls of the guideways in which they are movable, so, that after cards have been raised, they will not drop readily'to their normal positions when released. Inequalities in the tubular card supportsare. also apt to prevent the free dropping of the'cards, by means of leverage caused by such inequalities against adjacent card supports, thus causing other card supports to be moved and to exert pressure resulting in resistance to the free -movements of the tubular supports.

One object of my present invention is to obviate possibility of defective operation of card supports in an index of the visible type when such defective operation is due to imperfect construction of the card supports, and to so construct the card index of the kind specified, that the free turning movements of the card supports and hence the free dropping of the cards to normal position shall be insured.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction andcombinations of parts as hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,.Figure 1 is a view of a card index showing an embodiment of my invention. Figure 2 is a transversesectional view. Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the card supports, and Figure iis a'transverse sectional view of one of said supports. v

1 represents a frame or. holder which may be constructed of sheet metal and in the form of a slide to enter a suitable case or cabinet.

The frame or holder may comprise a base plate 2 having flanges 3-4 at one edge to form a guideway for end portions of card supports 5. The other ends of said card supports enter a guideway at the other side of the base plate,which "last mentioned guideway is formed bya flange 6 at the edge strip 7 which normally overlies the end portions of the card supports but may be raised to permit the insertion or removal of the latter. To assistin reducing resistance to the free turning of the card supports, the base member 2 may be provided with ribs 8 upon which the end portions of said card supports are mounted. The free edges of the parts 4 and 7 may be provided with depending flanges 4 and 7, respectively. The frame or slide 1 may be provided at its upper end with a flanged portion 9 and the ends of a spring 10 secured to a follower 11 may project under the overlying member of this flanged portion, and engage the upper end of the frame or holder. 1

An inclined platform 12 projects from the lower portion ofthe frame and extends over a part of the base thereof,said platform serving to support cards 13 held in the card supports near the lower end of the series so that the cards may lie flat.

Each card support 5 is made of sheet metal so bent that its end portions 14 will be cylindrical to be mounted to turn in the guideways of the frame or slide and that portion of the card support between the cylindrical end portions is cut away as indicated by the line 15 so that a cross-section of the body of the support will make something more than a semi-circle. Each card support is split asat 16 and from the portion 17 (which is integral at its ends with the cylindrical end portions 14) a flange 18 projects inwardly, said flan e being out of line with the axis of the car support and a portion of this flange may form the bottom wall of the slot or slit portion 16. Each index card 13 is passed through the slot 16 so as to overlie the flange 18 and is provided at its inner end with a flange 19 so disposed that its free edge may engage the inner wall of the card support.

By constructing the card supports in the manner above described they will engage each other only at. the cylindrical end porof the base plate 2 and a hinged member or tions and will be free from engagement with each other throughout their body portions between the cylindrical end portions, so that,

regardless of irregularities in the manufacture ofsaid supports, their free turning movement will not be interfered with and the cards will be permitted to drop freely when released and assume their normal positions accurately.

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. In a card index, the combination with a frame provided with guideways, of-a card support provided with cylindrical end portions movable in said guideways and having a body portion which is partly circular in cross-section.

2. In a card index, the combination with a frame provided with guideways, of a card support, a card held therein, said card support being made hollow with its body portion partly circular in cross-section and having cylindrical end portions movable in said guideways.

3. In a card index, the combination with a frame provided with guideways, of a sheet metal card holder having a slot and provided with an inwardly projecting flange, a portion of which forms one wall of said slot, said sheet metal support having its body portion partly circular in cross-section and provided at its ends with cylindrical portions, and a card entering said slot and provided with a flange depending below the free edge of the flange in said support.

4. In a card index, the combination with a frame provided with guideways and having upwardly projecting ribs on its base portion, of card supports having partly circular body portions and cylindrical en portions, the latter movable in said guideways and mounted on said ribs, and cards carried in said supports.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH CLIFFORD RUSSELL.

Witnesses ROBERT C. RUSSELL, HELEN M. ELIJNG. 

